The Sunday morning news. [volume] (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1886-1891, 1887-07-10
A BIG TAX SUIT ON HAND.
TO SET ASIDE THE TAX LEFIES FOR
TWELVE YEARS BACK.

TO SET ASIDE THE TAX EEFIES FOR
TWELVE YEARS BACK.
A Claim that they are Unconstitutional
Because ali kinds of Property are not
Equally Taxed-An Appeal TO made
TO the United States Courts.
s'Ill give you this on the dead quiet"
said well-known taxpayer to one of the
SUNDAY MORNING NEWS men a few days
ago as he handed out typewriter note,
in the words and figures following, that is
to say;
DEAR SIR: We are now prepared to commence
proceedings immediately in the matter Of setting
aside the tax leyies since 1875, and as your name
appears the paper subscribing to that object
please forward your check for amount specified
to william II. Speer, Esq.,, Grand cor. Communi-
paw avenue Jersey City, on or before July s. 1887
Yours Respectfully.
VIM II. SPEER,
GARRET VAN HORNE,
II. j. CURE1E,
Committee.
When the reporter started out to learn
what all this meant, he was asked by those
whom he approached
.Wby, where did you get tbat?"
And on all sides it was apparent that
it as no part of the programme to have
the facts given to the public. Lawyer
Cu-rie, whom the reporter went to for in
formation, felt that he had no authority
to say anything about it, but referred the
newspaper man to Peter Bentley for in
formation. Mr.. Bentley happened to be
yachting yesterday afternoon, and was not
therefore come-at-able.
CITY Collector Love when asked if he
had ueard of it, said:
eyes: but it has all been knocked in the
head by the decision of the Supreme Court,
permitting classification of property for tax
purposes"
It was learned from outside sources that
some weeks ago number of tax payers,
representing close on to three-quarters of a
million of dollars, got together to devise
excuses fer refusing longer to pay their
taxes The argument made was that the
new State Cor stitution adopted in 1875,
requires that property shall be taxed at
equal rates and by uniform rules Rail
re d property has not been Subjected to the
same taxation as individual property; and
it is therefore concluded that all the tax
leyies siEce the adoption of the constitu-
tional amendments in 1873 have been nm
constitutional 1t is on this ground that
the suit, foreshadowed in the note quoted
above, is to be taken into court, to set aside
the tax levies made for the last twelve
years. Mr.. Bentley has been retained by
the association to conduct the suit. Ii will
not be brought in the State Cour's,
because, as one gentleman interested
in the movement said yesterday, ''the
Strte courts do not seem to be favorable to
u.s."
The State courts have IN fact declared
that classification of property by its uses
for tax purposes is a compliance with the
constitutional amendment. So the suit is
to be brought in the United States courts
Proceedings will be put on foot early next
month.
1t is claimed by some lawyers that the
point has already been adjudicated in the
United States Courts as well. In the
famous Western Railroad suit, quoted SO
frequently during the railroad tax discus
sion two years ago,-where railroad refused
to pay its State tax because its property
was not taxed as much as individual prop
erty, the court is said to have announced
the doctrine of classification, which the
State courts here have since ruled to be
good law.
= The success of the proposed litigation
ASould not affect the tax levies as far as
fssey have been collected, but it woull de-
stroy the collection of the arrearagss and
throw them into the city debt column.
Itwas learned, too, that most, if not all,
the gentlemen interested in the projected
suit ars delinquent property owners who
have not paid their taxes since 1882, and
say they do not propose to pay till we have
equal taxation here. DIR. Quimby is one OF
the prop erty holders helping along the
movement, but he did not get into it till he
had paid the biggest share of his back taxes
and he Is said to have been kicking HIM
self vigorously ever since he made the pay
ments for what he regards as the biggest
mistake of his HE. The names OF the
others who are in it were refused the re-